Guinea-Bissau Party Loses 33 Members Over Poll Boycott
GUINEA-BISSAU · POLITICS
Key Facts
- —The country West African state of two million, run by a junta since 2025.
- —What happened 33 APU-PDGB officials and members resigned in one collective letter.
- —When The letter is dated and stamped received on Friday, 9 October.
- —Most senior signatory Party vice-president Samuel Dinis Manuel.
- —The grievance Leader Nuno Nabiam kept the party out of the November 2025 elections.
- —Still open Nabiam and the party leadership have not formally responded.
A former prime minister’s party is splitting as Guinea-Bissau’s military rulers search for a new election date.
Thirty-three officials and APU-PDGB members have quit the party of former prime minister Nuno Nabiam in Guinea-Bissau. Their collective letter, dated Friday, 9 October, says he took key decisions alone, above all sitting out the November 2025 elections.
The split matters beyond one party because Guinea-Bissau, a small West African state under military rule, has no date for civilian rule. APU-PDGB has just lost its vice-president and several regional leaders before any new vote.
What the Resignation Letter Says
APU-PDGB stands for Assembleia do Povo Unido – Partido Democrático da Guiné-Bissau, or United People’s Assembly – Democratic Party of Guinea-Bissau. Nabiam founded it and still leads it.
The two-page letter is addressed to him and signed by a “Group of Leaders and Members Resigning from APU-PDGB”. A stamp from the office of the party’s secretary-general shows it was received on 9 October.
The signatories say they are giving up both their posts and their membership. They blame “the deep leadership crisis” for what they call the weakening and gradual breakdown of the party (translated from Portuguese).
The letter lists three grounds. First, it says decisions of major political weight have been taken unilaterally, without consulting members.
Second, it rejects Nabiam’s decision not to run for president and to stop the party from contesting the legislative election. Both votes were held in November 2025, and the signatories say such a choice needed a full debate in the party’s bodies.
Third, it cites “constant violations” of the party statutes, including political agreements the leader signed alone. It names APU-PDGB’s entry into the Plataforma Republicana Nô Kumpu Guiné as one example.
Who Is Leaving APU-PDGB
An attached list names 33 people with their membership card numbers, posts and signatures. The Bissau weekly O Democrata, which saw the letter, reported the resignations on Friday evening.
The most senior is Samuel Dinis Manuel, a vice-president and member of the party’s Standing Committee. He also coordinated youth, economic affairs, vocational training and employment.
Beto Infande, president of the party’s Forum of Cadres, signed, as did its secretary-general, Buo Manuel. Garcia Biifa Bedeta, a deputy national secretary, and Rosalia da Costa, listed as president of the party body ONAMA, also signed.
The list also includes local political committee leaders from Biombo region, the Bária section and the Prabis sector. Two signatories are listed simply as rank-and-file members.
The group says the “political and ethical conditions” no longer exist for it to stay under the current leadership. It does not say whether its members will join another party.
The 2025 Vote and the Embaló Alliance
Guinea-Bissau held presidential and legislative elections on Sunday, 23 November 2025. Three days later, on 26 November 2025, the army seized power before provisional results were released.
General Horta Inta-A, an army officer, now leads the transition as president. The deposed president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, had been seeking a second term.
Nô Kumpu Guiné, Creole for roughly “Let’s Build Guinea”, was a 16-party alliance formed in September 2025 to back Embaló’s re-election. Le360, a Moroccan news site, reported its launch on 3 September 2025.
The dissidents’ complaint is therefore about a party that sat out the ballot itself while signing up to the incumbent’s camp. With the vote voided by the coup, that bet left APU-PDGB with no seats to defend and no clear role.
The letter arrives during a busy week for the transition. Officials said on Thursday that the planned 6 December election cannot go ahead, and no replacement date has been set.
What It Means for US Readers
Guinea-Bissau has long been a transit point for South American cocaine bound for Europe. A fragmented party system and an open-ended military transition make stable, accountable government harder to rebuild.
Washington has had no resident embassy in Bissau since 1998 and handles the country from its embassy in Dakar, Senegal. Embaló was among five West African leaders hosted at the White House in July 2025.
For travellers and businesses, the split itself changes little on the ground. It is a signal, though, that the civilian parties a future election depends on are weakening while the army sets the timetable.
What Is Not Known
Nabiam and APU-PDGB’s leadership had not issued a formal response by Sunday morning, 11 October.
On Saturday, the Bissau news blog Conosaba posted a short message under his name: “the struggle does not end here”. It did not name the defectors.
It is not known how many members APU-PDGB has in total, so the share of the party leaving cannot be measured. It is also unclear whether the signatories plan a new party or will join an existing one.
What Comes Next
The transitional president must now set a new election calendar after being told the December date is not possible. Parties that want to compete will have to renew their internal bodies first.
The resignations do not dissolve APU-PDGB, and Nabiam remains its leader. Whether more members follow will show how much of the party survives into the next vote.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is APU-PDGB?
APU-PDGB is a Guinea-Bissau political party founded and led by former prime minister Nuno Nabiam. Its full name means United People Assembly, Democratic Party of Guinea-Bissau.
How many people resigned?
The collective letter carries a list of 33 named officials and members. The most senior is vice-president Samuel Dinis Manuel.
Why did they leave?
They say Nabiam took major decisions alone, including keeping the party out of the November 2025 elections. They also object to his joining an alliance backing the former president without consulting party bodies.
Who runs Guinea-Bissau now?
A military-led transition under General Horta Inta-A has ruled since the coup of 26 November 2025. No date for a new election has been set.
Is Guinea-Bissau safe for American travellers?
The party split has no direct effect on security. Travellers should check the current US State Department advisory before going.
Sources: Collective resignation letter and list of signatories, APU-PDGB dissidents (published by Conosaba); O Democrata, Bissau; Conosaba, message attributed to Nuno Nabiam; O Democrata, transitional council on the December vote; Le360 Afrique (all accessed 11 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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